The first times I saw you
by ellephedre
Summary: Mamoru, the first times he saw Usagi, during the Classic season. It wasn't love at first sight. Written from Mamoru's POV, it follows moments we already know about and invent new ones. My goal: stay as IC as possible to the original version.
1. Immature

**The first times I saw you, you were…**

**1 - Immature**

_The first times I saw you, _

_you were an immature kid._

The matter was grave.

For ten consecutive nights he had been waking up in the middle of his sleep with the voice of _her_, tormenting him inside his head.

_Find the Silver Crystal._

As if he hadn't already tried, as if he more than anyone wouldn't want to know what that crystal really was.

As a kid, a therapist had told him that the gem of his dreams was the representation of his lost childhood memories, a priceless treasure that appeared unreachable to him, precious. Like a silver crystal. A woman begged him to find that gem, so the therapist hadn't had any doubts over the symbolism: that person was his mother.  
>Mamoru wondered if the interpretation would have been identical even now that he was seventeen years old.<p>

The feelings he had for that female figure were not of the filial kind.

Did he suffer from the Aedipus complex?

No, he didn't even remember his own mother.

And the woman of his dreams wasn't an adult. She was a girl, whose voice was a soft and young echo.

Maybe she was the princess of a fairytale that he had heard time and time again when he was little. His parents were probably the ones that had narrated to him the story. Had they mistaken him for a girl?

He put a finger under his sunglasses and rubbed an aching eye.

That night he had slept so little that covering his eyes had become necessary to protect himself from the light of the day.

"Yahhh!"

The estatic cries came from within a shop. Beyond the display window, a group of women struggled to get near a glass counter. They fought one another as if money was on sale.

_Jewels_, Mamoru noted, observing the products exposed on the showcases.

A girl came out of the shop. She was a schoolgirl, with a hair style fit for an anime. She was similar to the woman of his dream.

As a child, those buns had reminded him of odangos.

The blondie stopped just outside the jewellery, depressed.

Probably she was sad because mom and dad's money wasn't enough to buy herself some shiny trinket.

If only he had such stupid problems.

If only he had had parents.

The girl started screaming like crazy. "Ahhhh!" She crumpled something in her hands. "I don't ever want to see this thing again!"

The white ball of paper flew in the air, drawing an arc that… Mamoru didn't believe it until the paper hit him in the head.

Irresponsible little girl. And she was walking away! "You hurt me, odango atama!"

She started apologizing, but he had already opened the paper. It was a school test, with a terrible mark in evidence.

"... 30 points?"

Irresponsible and _ignorant_ girl_._ "You should study more, odango otama."

She had the common sense to run and retrieve her test.

"None of your business, give it back to me!"

Of course. She needed her mom to sign it.

The girl stuck out her tongue, a gesture straight out of kindergarten. She was so childish that he stopped giving her any attention.

Maybe he had been lucky after all for growing up without a family. He could have become just as spoiled, a student that didn't give the due importance to every test.

Another client came out of the shop. In her rush to exit, the woman nearly shoved him.

A jewellery, Mamoru thought.

He gazed up at the shop sign, lowering his sunglasses.

_Osap Jewellery._

Maybe he had done it all wrong?

Maybe the silver crystal was a real crystal exchanged among professional sellers. Or maybe it was a mythical jewel with extraordinary properties. A magical crystal.

He rubbed a temple.

Such rubbish.

He needed some sleep.

**1 - Immature – THE END**


	2. Ordinary

**1 - Ordinary**

_The second time I saw you,  
>You were an ordinary girl.<em>

A good doctor?  
>When could one call himself a good doctor?<br>Mamoru have been thinking about it for two days.  
>That morning, in class, the professor had scolded one of his classmates for yawning during the lesson.<br>"You down there, pay attention! To be a good doctor mastering Istology is essential!"  
>If it came down to learning notions, Mamoru had no doubts: he would become a superlative doctor, among the bests.<br>But the night before, after four hours of study, he had seen an interesting scene on tv, a doctor informing a patient of a fatal diagnosis. The doctor had been precise, avoiding dangerous sentimentalism. Had he been distraught, the patient would have come second in his mind. The doctor had even taken responsability for not finding out about the tumor earlier. The patient hadn't cared: he had complained about the doctor being heartless and unfeeling.  
>"You tell this to me with that face?"<br>Mamoru remembered the accusation.  
>The tv show hadn't helped him to understand who was right among the two. The question had been left open on purpose, maybe to allow the viewer to form his own idea on the matter.<br>Mamoru hadn't found an answer. He was still asking himself the same question: what was the right attitude for a good doctor?  
>Was it necessary to be compassionate all the time? Empathic?<br>He didn't lack heart. He had difficulty in showing he had one, but he wanted to become a doctor because he liked the idea of being helpful in desperate moments.  
>A human being couldn't be more generous than a doctor. Who else offered his life to years of unrelenting study, to learn the intricate details of a human body? It was all to be able to operate with the maximum knowledge, or to help a patient by providing him with the correct diagnosis. A body sometimes wasn't able to sustain life, betraying it without pity. Tumors, immunodeficiencies, mental problems...<br>His memory loss hadn't been considered a real illness, but he thought of it as one. He wanted a solution to that mistery. In the meantime, he would offer hope to others, by conquering their wellbeing. He didn't care about gratitude, he just wanted to know he had done something to improve people's lives.  
>This, he supposed, made him a person who could become a good doctor.<br>He brought the cup to his lips and finished drinking his coffee.  
>His break has ended, it was time to go back to his study books.<br>At four o' clock in the afternoon the arcade was crowded. Highschool students stood in line to sit in front of videogames.  
>He searched for Motoki among the mass of people. His friend was nowhere to be seen.<br>Someone had dropped a milkshake on a console, so probably Motoki was in the rear room, grabbing something to clean.  
>"Yeah, keep doing that, good!"<br>He turned around. From behind a game box appeared two buns of blond hair.  
>No, two blond odangos.<br>"Awesome, now throw a super kick!"  
>Odango atama. Her life goal was clear: she pushed others to win at videogames. So useful.<br>"Noo, he killed you! It happened to me too yesterday!"  
>Mamoru sighed.<br>Why was he so sarcastic when it came to her? She was just a thirteen - fourteen? - year old girl like many others. She didn't like to study, she enjoyed spending her afternoons with videogames and probably in front of the mirror to come up with new foolish hairstyles... And yet, she could become a valuable person too, in the future.  
>In her own way, she was compassionate. She was smiling at the boy who had just lost the game, encouraging him.<br>Maybe as an adult she could become a kindergarten teacher.  
>No. Even for a similar job one needed to be competent enough to pass middle school English exams with more than 30 points.<br>He got up from the table and headed for the exit.  
><em>Well, concentrate on your studies, kid.<br>I suppose we will never see each other again._


	3. Irritating

**3 - Irritating**

_The third time I saw you  
>you were an irritating girl<em>

That cloudy day had begun badly and ended worse.  
>Or he could have described it in such a fashion if it hadn't been just five in the afternoon. He still had the rest of the evening to face..<br>With every passing hour, his misfortunes' list had grown.  
>To begin with, he had only half-slept during the night.<br>He had repeatedly dreamed of _her_. She, the punisher of his rest, the princess of his onirical subconscious. The girl had taken the title by force, but he had gifted her with it mostly because she looked noble. Still, 'princess' was an apt name: he wanted to kiss her more than he wanted to kill her, even if she stole his sleep.

When he had gathered enough energy to get out of bed in the morning, he had stared sideways at the nightstand. The alarm had rung two times without him hearing it, making him half an hour late. Desperate, he had prepared just coffee for breakfast. Obviously he hadn't grabbed correctly the cup's handle and the coffee had spilled on his new shirt. He had resorted to his favourite change of clothes – classic green jacket, grey pants and black turtleneck – all the while cursing in every language known to him.  
>During the bus trip – how he wanted a motorbike – a braking had sent him head-on against a woman, exactly on her very impressive pair of- He had gotten slapped in the face. He had never felt so ashamed in all his life.<br>Running towards the university – under the rain – he hadn't noticed a hole in the sidewalk and his shoe had ended on it. He had hit the ground with his knee, but his ankle hadn't followed the movement and he had sprained it. His pants, naturally, hadn't survived clean.  
>He had arrived late to class. Entering the room, all the eyes had focused on him, along with those of his inflexible professor of Chemistry. Before that Mamoru hadn't managed to get noticed among the other students, so Kuroki-san's first impression of him was that of a limping and shaggy straggler.<p>

Mamoru had never believed in luck, but in that day… Yes, he could change his mind.  
>He sighed.<br>At least his leg wasn't limping anymore.  
>Everything happened because he hadn't slept well that night.<br>It was_ her_ fault.  
>Sometimes he felt like a frightened and needy child in front of that girl.<br>He detested himself for it. He wanted answers from her and in his dreams he was so desperate for them that he begged to heard just another word.  
>But she stayed mute, her face hidden behind the pale shadow of the moon. She seemed lonely and in need of comfort.<br>_Find the Silver crystal for me.  
>Save me.<br>_The last was a request he had made up. That's how he read her sadness, a condition that seemed always more visible in the mist of confusion that was his own imagination.  
><em>Please.<br>_The echo of her voice sounded more soft and familiar with every passing month.  
>It left him with a sense of defeat. He wasn't able to help her or himself.<br>He would have loved to climb the tower from which she called him. They could have sat near each other, sharing their torments and solitude, in search of sympathy.  
>Pathetic.<br>Hadn't he decided to be strong? He had nobody to rely on, he would never have someone to support him. He had chosen to refuse the help of people forced to take care of him because of their jobs.  
>If he started feeling sorry for himself now, how would things turn out for him?<br>He had projects for his future, little steps to take. He had managed to get an apartment and he was learning to cook. He had begun classes at university; he had a purpose, sought with persistence. He wanted a motorbike and a car too.  
>Trivial things? Maybe they wouldn't fulfill his life, but he didn't care.<br>He had made a friend. Motoki Futurahata was pleasant to be around. Maybe Motoki had taken him under his wing for kindness, but he didn't hold it over his head. Mamoru enjoyed spending time with him and in two months he had started to feel a semblance of affection.  
>Everything was fine. He was a normal person, even if he had never been able to fit in a family.<p>

He looked ahead and nearly smiled.  
>There, on the side of the opposite street, stood an emblem of normality. Odango Otama was spying on a dead alley.<br>Turning, she threw a glance to a huge sign on a nearby building.  
>He understood: she was searching for a fortune teller. The day before a chiromancy shop had opened on the street, in open competition with the Master of Juuban, an old man that declared himself able to tell people's future by looking at their hands.<br>Only girls like Odango believed in such nonsense.  
>Probably she had questions about a guy. <em>Oh, when will I find a boyfriend?<br>_He tripped.  
>Turning around, he saw a raised tile protuding from the pavement, in the very middle of it.<br>He had a bad feeling and he started to walk away.  
><em>Must run home<em>. Inside his own house, at least, he wouldn't have a public to witness his disgraces…  
><em>Tonk!<br>_A shoe used his head as a stepping stone for the ground.  
>It was a girl's shoe, black.<br>He grabbed it and crushed it in his hand.  
><em>No, not this too!<br>_He marched straight towards the guilty victim of his fury. Odango had the misfortune to be the only living damage that had happened to him during the day, so…  
>He grit his teeth and drew the shoe in front of her, like a sword. "You hurt me, Odango Atama!"<br>She rose in all her miserable height. "Why can't you ever say anything different to me?"  
>She was the one always throwing things at his head! "If you don't learn to control your manners, you won't ever find a boyfriend!"<br>Odango Atama started shivering, red in the face.  
>He had hit a nerve, and he didn't regret it.<br>She took back her shoe. "Thanks a lot!"  
><em>Exasperating girl!<br>_He turned around and went his own way. He heard some mutterings behind him and he had to use all his willpower not to go back and answer.  
>He was an adult, he couldn't behave like a kid!<br>To blow off the steam, he left. 

That night his princess came back to him.  
>She reached out for him. They were distant, but he felt nonetheless a caress on his cheek.<br>The following day he woke up rested, his leg once again healthy.  
>The morning coffee tasted better, intense and warm.<br>Sipping the liquid, Mamoru stared out of his window.  
>The sun was back and high in the sky.<br>He smiled and prepared himself for a new day at university.

**3 - Irritating - END**

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><p>Author's notes: this episode is base on episode 2 of the Classic series.<br>I enjoyed writing it: I am finally describing more vivid reactions of Mamoru to Usagi.  
>Next episode will focus on the moment of the episode 3, and I already know the title: 'Funny'.<br>It will be a pleasure to hear your thoughts.

ellephedre

P.S. - This is a translation from the italian language. If you find errors in English, please let me know :)


	4. Funny

**4 - Funny**

_The fourth time I saw you,  
>you were a funny girl<em>.

He had started running at twelve when he had joined the athletics club at school. More correctly, he had been joined to the club. He had gone to the afternoon practice in his jumpsuit and trainers, believing he had to do some additional training under the orders of Takashi-san, his PE teacher. Upon arriving, the professor had proudly taken him aside, calling the other ten members of the club. He had had them stand, one beside the other, over the white line that delimited the tracking field..  
>"This is Mamoru Chiba, first year. Our new member!" Takashi-san had stopped him from leaving by grabbing on his shoulders. "Welcome him to the team!"<br>_Trapped._  
>In his memories he had puffed up his chest and stood tall, trying to elongate his 4 feet 8 inches frame – he had been writing down the measure by then, month after month. At his age not many boys had been as tall as him, but he had feared his schoolmates all the same: in elementary school he had felt like a king respected by everyone. Then his certainties had been taken away when he had been sent to a different place in which he had no reputation.<br>In a few weeks, he had settled in.  
>At the club he had learned how to run, gauging his breaths and using the growing muscles of his legs. He had been taught how to jump long and most of all high. With his body rotating over the bar, he had felt like flying.<br>_Thanks, Takashi-san.  
><em>He still thought that and he had told so to his professor at the graduation ceremony at the end of middle school. Obviously everyone had enjoyed the moment, but to him it had been more like a goodbye. Goodbye to another place of certainties – this time with a new assuredness to accompany him in his life.  
>He had entered high school with no more fears and with a marked path: becoming the high-school star of high jump. He had been enrolled in his new institute specifically for that ambitious objective.<br>He had disappointed everyone but himself.  
><em>I don't want to be an athlete<em>, he had told one day to his coach, at the end of the first year. _I will be a doctor!  
><em>The passion for jumping had remained within him, as well as a periodical need for a good run – he did some jogging in the mornings, every time he had no lessons.  
>In the present, he observed the running track. There was an high school behind his apartment and from time to time he watched the training sessions.<br>"Now! Go, go, go!"  
>At the coach's insistence, the student started the half-circle path towards the bar, bouncing on his feet. He jumped.<br>Mamoru allowed himself a smile.  
><em>You'll go a long way.<em>

Life as a university student was awesome. He studied, but he was able to manage his own time in complete freedom. He even had days like that Thursday, in which he had only one class to attend in the second part of the morning. His afternoon was free and he could do whatever he wanted. The day was wonderful, the sky was blue…  
>"To my future boyfriend…"<br>He didn't look down fast enough, but he recognized the blond tails before Odango Otama slammed into his chest and fell to the ground. She was up before he had said a thing.  
>"So sorry!" She bowed repeatedly. "I didn't do it on purpose, I'm so absentminded!"<br>The light pole she was addressing remained indifferent to her explanations.  
>"Usagi!" another girl cried.<br>Usagi? Odango Atama's name was _bunny_?  
>Mamoru started savouring the first of many future jokes.<br>She lifted up her head. Seeing him, she pulled back in horror and he bursted out laughing. "Not bad, apologising to a pole!" Maybe the poor concrete had suffered in the impact.  
>Odango Atama started growling exactly like the furious little bunny she was.<br>Oh well, it would have been so unoriginal to make fun of her name. Usagi did so many silly things on her own – filling her mind with 30s in English tests and imaginary future boyfriends. "Of course, it's a big problem if even your little head goes out of control in spring." Like a good bunny, she needed to go and graze the pastures.  
>He walked past her with a laugh.<br>"What have you said?!" she cried at him.  
><em>You are a living comedy<em>, he summarized in his thoughts, keeping on walking.  
>"Usagi! That guy is a friend of yours?" The other girl hadn't bothered to lower her voice. "He is so cute!"<br>_Thank you.  
><em>"He is not cute at all!" Odango Otama was vehement in her protest. "He makes me so mad!"  
>Mamoru turned around in time to see her in fits of rage appropriate for a farm animal. Without an ounce of embarrassement, she stuck out her tongue at him – a gesture ridiculous enough to end up in some world record.<br>_What the hell, Odango Otama. If you were a little less cute, you would have deformed your face by now.  
><em>That girl was really a lost case.

A magic rose pierced the air.  
><em>Tum.<em>  
>Inside his head, he felt a tune.<br>A man without face vanished in the dark and another figure, a girl, remained behind, crouched on the ground.  
>"But he is… Tuxedo Mask!" she cried.<br>_Tuxedo what?  
><em>"See you soon!" was the imperious answer. "I'll be back!"  
>The laugh that echoed in the night seemed addressed to him.<p>

Waking up from the dream, Mamoru found himself seated on the ground, his backside on the moquette and his legs half out on the balcony.  
>He rubbed his eyes.<br>_What the hell?_

**4 - Funny – END**

A/N: I'm not convinced about the English I've used here. If you think a sentence sounds weird, please let me know.  
>As for the story… This chapter is based on episode 3 of the Classic season.<br>Mamoru is japanese and there elementary school lasts six years – that's why he is twelve in his first year at middle school.  
>Thank you for the kind reviews. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this story :)<p> 


	5. Hungry

**5 - Hungry**

_And that other time I saw you,  
>you were a hungry girl.<em>

In the mirror the tie resulted perfectly aligned to his shoulders.  
>Mamoru observed his image.<br>When he had bought the tuxedo, the store's clerk had adjusted it on his back with a critical eye. "You are fortunate. You have the measures of a dummy."  
>Mamoru had asked himself if being compared to an inanimate object was a compliment.<br>"Do you want to rent it?" the man had asked him.  
>In that shop for grown men, Mamoru had felt adult enough to say, "No. I'd like to buy it."<br>He would have to justify the expense to his legal guardian, but it was alright. He needed the tuxedo and he had both the looks and the money to wear it.  
>He nodded to the mirror.<br>He was a privileged person.  
>From time to time, when he was in a bad mood – and only then, that was his only excuse – he enjoyed tormenting himself with the list of his own misfortunes.<br>Nothing had been easy for him: he had no childhood memories, no parents and he hadn't acquired a family while growing up. For that, he considered himself the only guilty party: he was to one who had complicated the adoption process for the families who had tried to take him into their homes.  
>Moreover, he had no friends – though, maybe he had one. That was his fault too, but when he wanted to ignore the fact he willingly basked in his own solitude.<br>Then came moments like the one he was living, in which reality appeared to his eyes more clear than ever.  
>He was a privileged human being.<br>He had the economical means, the looks of a successful person and, most of all, a brain that would help him move through life. He had used it during those first few months at university. His efforts had gained him excellent marks and the attention of people similar to him. He had gotten to know other students eager to learn – among them, some exchange students that had travelled through the world. One of them, White, had presented him to Mr Edwards, an English philanthropist that offered scholarships. In his villa one could meet young people interested in physics, chemistry, literature, arts, music, medicine. University students like him, PhD students or even professors ready to share their knowledge to nourish the great minds of the future.  
>Mamoru wanted to be one of them.<br>During that evening he would have the opportunity to go beyond his meager experiences, made of books and classes. He would talk with people that, like him, were not content to live a life that would end with their death.  
>He wanted to do big things, he wanted to be remembered through history. It was his dream.<br>His life had begun with some disadvantages, but now he had the means and the possibility to realize his maximum aspirations, without limits. Everything depended on his will to succeed.  
>It was the condition – he smiled – of a very privileged person.<p>

Strolling through the city with a tuxedo made him feel observed. Pleasantly so, when a look of admiration appeared in the eyes of a girl. But the majority of people just thought… 'Where is he going dressed like that? Doesn't he own a car?'  
>If only. He desired a car with everything he was.<br>Still, the age to obtain a license wasn't under discussion and he had yet some months to go before becoming eighteen. Moreover, he didn't have the money for a good car: his legal guardian had been straightforward on the matter.  
>"I can't allow you to spend more than this." Tsukushi-san had shown him the amount on a paper. He wrote down everything. "For a novice driver, an introductory model is more appropriate. You should get an unassuming car with no frills. Your parents would agree, if they were alive."<br>Tsukushi-san mentioned his parents whenever he suggested an unwelcome solution. Mamoru didn't like those attempts, and yet… Logically, an adult knew better that a boy how a parent would behave. Having someone to stop him could be useful.  
>He didn't feel the need to live with an adult – he wasn't a kid anymore – but it was good to know that, somewhere in the world, there was a person concerned with his interests, even if it was just in a financial way. The judge would have assigned him a full-time guardian if Mamoru hadn't insisted on living alone. Later on, he had demonstrated that it was the best solution for him. So he only had Tsukushi-san, who would handle his finances until he was twenty.<br>Which meant that, to have the car he desired, he needed to work. That too – Mamoru pondered – could be a formative experience.  
>A streak of sun hit him in the eyes and he put on his sunglasses. They were colorful, but he didn't care: his health came before everything. Moreover, that pair looked good on him. If nature had bestowed him with some gifts, why not take advantage of them?<br>Behind the dark glasses, on the pavement in front of him, he saw the appearance of two blond tails.  
>In the world different kind of people existed, with various fortunes.<br>For instance, Odango Atama surely had a beautiful family that had spoiled her rotten, and she also possessed the looks of a dollish anime girl that one day someone would love, but… How could one forget about the 30s in English tests? Or in Maths and Japanese, for sure. She really needed to cultivate her mind, since she was doing everything in her power to gain twenty pounds in a single day. Under one arm she held a white paper bag and with her free hand she was making a hot nikuman vanish inside her mouth in big morsels. The experience captivated her so much that she advanced with closed eyes, hungry as if she hadn't eaten anything both at lunch and breakfast.  
>She was hopeless.<br>He stopped in front of her. "You sure eat a lot."  
>Odango Atama's inflated red cheeks made her a vision of comic fury.<br>"Odango Atama eating a nikuman" he commented. She certainly was a living ad for food.  
>"It has nothing to do with you!" she protested. "When will you learn to mind your own business?!"<br>_Ever_? He was enjoying himself too much and she was the one that happened to appear in front of him every time. "If you keep eating like that, you will really become a nikuman." Chubby enough to burst.  
>She girated her arm. "Shut up!" She threw him her food.<br>He grabbed it in the air. "Ops, nice catch!" No nikuman in the face for Mister Royal Pain in the Ass that just told her the truth. "Thank you very much." He tasted the meat of the filling and had to agree with her gluttony: the nikuman was delicious, a wonderful appetizer before the dinner at Edward's.  
>He needed to get going. "One nikuman that you give to me," he told her in a loud voice, leaving, "it's one less making you fat!" And since he had already lost enough time with her, he deprived himself of the pleasure of her offended face and just went away.<p>

"Tell me, Chiba-san," Edwards asked him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Do you have a special girl in your life?"  
>Why every person over thirty was interested in knowing if he had a girlfriend? Tsukushi-san, his female neighbours, Edwards... Was it a common topic of conversation?<br>"No" he smiled, trying to be courteous.  
>"Then this may be the right occasion for you." Edwards showed him the ample ballroom with a movement of his arm. "Tonight I have invited a lot of beautiful girls."<br>Yes, girls were more numerous than Mamoru had imagined.  
>"Look at that young woman over there." Edwards pointed to a girl leaning against the wall, her arms crossed behind her back. "Why don't you ask her to dance? She'd be delighted."<br>Mamoru understood. "Sure." Edwards was just trying to put all his guests at ease.  
>It was sad for a girl not to be asked to dance: Mamoru had learned it during the small parties at the orphanage, many years before. It was incredible that such a knowledge was useful to him now.<br>He went towards the girl. He didn't remember her name, but he had heard her talk animatedly about… English poets, right?  
>Her eyes widened when he approached her.<br>Good, she didn't need any convincing. "Would you like to dance with me?"  
>She nearly sighed. "Yes."<br>He extended his hand to her.  
>At the first touch, he knew that he would share just a ball with her that night.<br>It wasn't an abstract notion, just a sensation. He wanted to long for the warmth of another person, he wanted to dance like he was able to – naturally, another good fortune of his – and he wanted… closeness, at every level.  
>Maybe one day it would happen. One day down the road, if the right person for him existed. <em><br>__And to you, I will tell about the car I desire and the dream I'm chasing. About how I feel different, sometimes superior, sometimes nothing special. __About how I don't want to be alone anymore._  
>One day down the road.<br>_If you exist._

**5 - Hungry - end**

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><p><strong>NA: ** Thank you to you who appreciate these little stories.  
>I love to hear comments, they made me want to keep translating :)<br>As usual, my English is not perfect. If you notice any errors, just let me know.


	6. In danger

**6 - In danger**

_When I saw you again, for the umpteenth time,  
>you were a girl in danger.<em>

A dog, Mamoru sighed, looking at the picture of three Akita puppies hanged on the window of an animal shop.  
><em>For sale! We're two males and one female, in good health. Come in and ask where our kennel is.<br>_He would have liked a dog, but he lived alone.  
>A dog would wake him in the morning, rubbing his muzzle against the palm of his hand, rolling in the covers. A dog would bark happily every time he returned home, jumping around his feet. A dog would dangle his tongue out to ask for food, in that canine smile that touched Mamoru even when he observed it on TV.<br>A dog needed to be taken out for a walk at least two or three times a day. Moreover, a dog was the kind of animal who would feel a sense of abandonment if left alone for long hours.  
>Mamoru could relate.<br>Unfortunately, he was attending university and he was planning to find a job: such a demanding animal was out of discussion.  
>He kept on walking, moving away from the shop.<br>_Hm_.  
>The last time he had considered the idea of an animal he hadn't yet lived in an apartment of his own.^<br>A cat – he pondered. Cats were soft, quiet and discreet. Good qualities, no doubt, but a fellow university student had told him about her cat. The troubles he got into when she wasn't home were – in her own words - legendary. Mamoru cared about his furniture and he was a tidy person. Also, he didn't want to impose solitude on another living being. If the cat created disasters when he was by himself, it probably happened because he felt alone.  
>What about a canary? A parrot?<br>The idea of a little yellow bird was colorful, but noisy. He like the singing of canaries just fine, but only out of his window and from a distance.  
>The possibility of a parrot didn't excite him. It was funny to hear them speaking, but his idea of a perfect awakening wasn't a squawking voice saying to him, "Good morning!".<br>A hamster? They died in about two years.  
>A bunny? They usually lived longer – five, ten years? – but they weren't very communicative animals. Not that Mamoru blamed them: he would have felt the same if he had been forced to live in a cage, with no more than one meter square of space.<br>Bunnies, hamsters, and winged animals had to live in complete freedom. Or at the very least, he wouldn't contribute to trap another one of them.  
>Which left him with no choices.<br>"Chanela!"  
>The exclamation of a child drew his attention. The little boy – an elementary school student – stood still in the middle of the sidewalk, unconcerned with the pedestrians who tried to avoid him. He was keeping a bunny-sized puppet in his hands. Its fur was lilac, very realistic.<br>The bunny moved an ear.  
><em>It's alive!<br>_"Chanela" the little boy sighed. His pupils were dilated and snot dripped from his nose.  
>The child had a cold, but instead of cleaning himself up, he went on, undismayed, continuing his adoration of the animal.<br>Getting ahead of him, Mamoru bent his head and tried to understand.  
>The eyes of the bunny-like little beast were brilliant red, so intense that…<br>He pulled back.  
><em>What was that?<br>_He had felt a needle – a perfumed one – making its way into his brain.  
>"Chanela!", the little boy repeated in awe.<br>A lady bumped against him with a shopping bag. "Sorry, kid!"  
>The boy gave off an enraged noise and resumed his walking, the animal firmly held in his hands.<br>Was it a new species of bunny?  
>Moving forward, Mamoru ended up with a piece of paper under his shoe.<br>The advertising leaflet answered his question.

Chanela, he told himself the next day, shaking his head.  
>Exactly as the previous afternoon, the shop that sold those animals was crowded. People went in and came out hypnotized - zombies who cared only about their last fetish, the Chanela.<br>Mamoru would have never thought something like that before, but those weird bunnies seemed… evil.  
>He didn't care for horror movies and he was firmly convinced that there was an explanation for every wickedness in the world, as well as a human face behind it. But the situation in Juuban had something … supernatural in it.<br>The heart of the anomaly was the shop at the other side of the street, where the Chanela were freely given to anyone who was interested in them. No money required, not even a meager 'thank you': with the Chanela in their hands, customers came out of the shop without turning back.  
>To verify it, Mamoru had entered the place himself the day before, discovering a soft-lightened area emanating a venomous, sickly-sweet aroma. A female assistant had invited him to take a look around, showing him the see-through cages – for all intents and purposes, shop-windows for products – where the animals were kept.<br>Just for the sake of it, Mamoru had attempted to gaze into the eyes of the small beings. He had retracted immediately, alerted by a survival istinct stronger than him.  
>He had exited the shop with his brain still intact and no animal in his company, a lone survivor among many victims.<br>But now… what was he to do?  
>That Chanela business couldn't be illegal. The shop had opened in a central street and was known by hundreds – maybe thousands – of people. Even by the law enforcement?<br>Somebody other than him had come out of it in full health, right? Somebody with the authority to stop the situation had to be aware of the danger. It wasn't necessary that he, Mamoru Chiba, alerted the media and the police.  
><em>There are hallucinogenic bunnies in that place!<br>_A sure way to make an idiot of himself.  
>On the opposite sidewalk, among the children huddled around the shop entrance, a blond head attracted his attention.<br>He couldn't believe his own eyes. A ridiculous and naive bunny was about to enter the nest of her own evil brothers.  
>He crossed the road, running.<br>The odangos didn't move, they waited for him while their owner watched the shop from the outside. He didn't need to see Usagi-Odango's face to know that her gaze had lightened up at the prospect of getting a Chanela.  
>Bunnies were attracted by other bunnies, but such a stupidity was too big even for a girl like her.<br>He managed to reach her. "Ehi, Odango Atama!"  
>Her shoulders trembled. "That voice…?" She turned around and saw him.<br>Mamoru didn't even need to invent a reason to laugh: Usagi-Odango had the face of a little jester even in that istant.  
>He was determined to scare her off with a massive dose of sarcasm.<br>"Damn!" she growled. "Why do you keep showing up?"  
>"I can say the same to you." In other circumstances he would have thought that Odango Atama was following him on purpose.<br>She glared at him, thinking herself threatening.  
>Odango was overestimating her abilities. "You're not buying a Chanela, are you?"<br>"What do you care?!"  
>He had hit her where it hurt and he shrugged. "Perfume doesn't suit you."<br>"Oh, shut up!"  
><em>Too rude.<em> He closed his eyes in shame for a fatal instant. Odango Atama was already going through the sliding doors of the shop.  
>"Ehi!" He stopped himself. What could he say to her?<br>_Come back here, there are dangerous bunnies in that place!  
><em>Odango Atama would consider him a crazy stalker. Or worse, she could mistake his concern for interest. Given their frequent meetings, she could even convince herself that he was following her.  
>Which was ridiculous, he didn't even know her!<br>_That's right_, he thought. What was the difference between Odango Atama and the other dozens of Chanela's victims? He could have tried to save them too. Focusing on one person made no sense.  
>The problem had to be solved at the root.<br>Maybe he just needed to wait.  
>Unusual episodes had been happening in Tokyo for the last few weeks. Women who lost piles of pounds in two or three days, crowds of people who fell into a coma without apparent medical reasons. Maybe the police was already building a case, even if those situations had solved themselves.<br>The same would happen for the Chanelas: he didn't live in a horror movie, the world wouldn't be invaded by people worshipping evil bunnies.  
>He gazed at the sky.<br>He would worry seriously only if those animals didn't disappear in a week.  
>But surely by then everything would be back to normal.<p>

It happened sooner.  
>The next day Mamoru read in the newspaper that the Chanela shop didn't exist anymore. According to the short article on page nine, the whole business had moved without specifying a new address, disappointing dozens of potential customers.<br>It took him two days to get rid of the guilt.  
>He had abandoned Odango Atama to her destiny. She was only a passing acquaintance to him, but nonetheless she was also a person with whom he had exchanged a few words. He wouldn't have let anyone else he knew go into that shop – from his mailman to the shop assistant of the little grocery store near his apartment. Usagi-Odango had been the exception because he hadn't tolerated the idea of looking like a fool.<br>_Coward.  
><em>On Friday evening fate made him feel better.  
>He was walking through Juuban, under the rain, to rent a videotape. In the greyness of the street, the unexpected yellow spot stood out as a lighthouse. Odango Atama was walking on the opposite sidewalk, an umbrella in her hand. She was dressed in a white and blue dress, a cat going along with her.<br>It was the first time Mamoru saw her without the school uniform.  
>She would have been happy to know that he didn't think her thirteen anymore: Usagi-Odango was at least fourteen, for sure. The jacket and the short skirt gave her the look of a girl who still had some growing up to do, but she was on the right path.<br>She seemed particularly proud of her looks: she was walking cheerfully with straight shoulders, brushing with her fingers the skirt that moved to the rhythm of her pace.  
>Mamoru smiled. <em>Must be a new dress.<br>_Even if a Chanela had stolen Odango's brain some days ago, everything was fine now.  
>Proving him wrong, she stopped and started a conversation with her cat.<br>Mamoru turned a blind eye to that, going his own way.  
>The bunch of holes in the heads of certain fourteen years old girls couldn't be cured at all.<p>

**6 – In danger – END**

N/A – With this chapter I covered the event on episode 5 and 6 of the Classic season.  
>Mamoru is slowly starting to become more aware of Usagi :)<br>It would be a pleasure to know if you liked this chapter.

For the translation of this chapter I thank ggsi. As usual, if there are errors, let us know.


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